1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fungicidal and bactericidal method employing organic solvent solutions of fungicidal and bactericidal quaternary ammonium salts which are insoluble or sparingly soluble in water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices, appliances and equipment for household uses, industrial uses and medicinal uses widely suffer from contamination of microorganisms, for example, due to the growth of fungi or harmful bacteria, or from deterioration of the constituent material, irrespective of whether they are made of inorganic or organic materials.
The fungicidal and bactericidal methods heretofore used to overcome this problem predominantly employ water-soluble fungicidal or bactericidal agents, so that these agents are dissolved out with water such as rainwater, failing to fully protect devices and equipment from growth of fungi and harmful bacteria. It is therefore strongly required to provide effective measures.
The present invention, which has been accomplished to fulfill the above requirement, provides a method which employs a fungicidal and bactericidal quaternary ammonium salt of alginic acid or carboxymethylcellulose (hereinafter referred to as "CMC") as dissolved in an organic solvent, the salt being sparingly soluble or insoluble in water. As to such salts, the following compounds and methods are known.